End of the Year Traditions

There are a lot of ways to celebrate the end of the year! Check out the infographic below to learn a bit about some Latin American celebrations.

Also, Kristen does a fabulous job of describing a couple of traditions. 

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as an advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Translate some information from the infographic above and find images online of the celebrations to include in your blog post.
• Find end of the year (or new-years celebrations) traditions not mentioned and explain them in your blog post.
• What are your end-of-the-year traditions? What do you do to ring in the new year? What was/is your resolution? How is it going?

Map Your Favorite Recipie

Here is where ingredients of deviled eggs come from.

MapYourRecipe is a neat website that will tell you where the ingredients of your favorite food comes from.

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Think of your favorite dish - find the ingredients on allrecipes.com and copy them. Paste the ingredients in the box on the left side of MapYourRecipe and see where different ingredients come from. Include the screen shot in your blog post and a brief description of what you learned about ingredients of a delicious dish!
• It's not really helpful, accurate or interesting for foods like hamburger, hot dog, meatballs, or macaroni and cheese. You may need to copy and paste a few dishes before one becomes "screen-shot-worthy."

Great Travel Videos

When I found the links on the post about Mexican cuisine, I came across this great Vimeo channel, The Perennial Plate. This channel is fantastic at showcasing the value of traveling!

Travel Is from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo.

Check out this video about food from Spain.
(It makes me miss jamon serrano and pulpo a la galega soooo bad.)

A Spanish Roadtrip from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo.

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Respond to one or both of these videos - what stands out to you? Does it inspire/scare you? Explain your answer.
• For the "A Spanish Roadtrip" video take a screenshot of the food that looks that tastiest and of the food that looks the least tastiest. Include both images in your blog post along with the video. Explain why you feel the way you do.
• Find another video on The Perennial Plate channel that you enjoy. Embed it in your blog post and explain what you like about it.

Comida Infographic

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Which fruta y vegetal is in season in your birthday month?
• Explain other information that this infographic tells you.
• Take your preferences from the categorize comida activity and use them to create your own infographic (using one of these websites).

Learning About the World Through Photos

Photography is one of my hobbies, and I love taking photos of my travels. (Click here to see photos of my recent trip to Spain or here for photos from my previous international adventures.

Recently I have come across some amazing photo series about life in different parts of the world that taught me a lot.

Here is a series of photos taken of a couple who are living out of a truck in Mexico.

Here is a series of photos taken of a circus school in Cuba.

Here is a series of photos that show how much different items would cost in Venezuela right now.

Here is a series of photos that show people at their jobs around the world.

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Which series of photos did you like the most and why?
• Select a series of photos and link to the website on your blog post and describe the series. What did you learn about the country that these photos were taken? What surprised you the most about what you see in the photos? What questions are raised based on the photos?
• Find another set of photos of a Hispanic place and include a link to the website and give an overview of what the photos series is about. Why did you select these photos?

New Immigration Reform - Other Perspectives

I just posted about President Obama's plan to reform immigration, now I want to share different perspectives on the proposed plans.

Click here to read about Bruno, (picture above) a young undocumented immigrant who has qualified and will be applying for the Deferred Action program.

"As far as going to the hospital and enrolling in school, I use a fake name at hospitals and school never really questioned, unless it's college."

I also read a blog post by a respected Chicago teacher who talked about the speech with his students. Below are a few quotes from his students. 

“I believe Obama’s executive order is a good thing.  It gives immigrants a chance to work with a permit and travel.  In addition, the immigrants won’t get deported with a valid permit.  Furthermore, immigrants must have been in the U.S. for at least 5 years.  On the other hand, I don’t agree with people not being included because they do not have children.  It also does not legalize immigrants or give them a green card.  I also don’t like the fact that parents of DREAMers don’t qualify because they try their best to support their kids.”          --Julie

“Immigration has always been a topic to talk about or have an argument about.  I agree that, for decades, we haven’t done much about it because it just creates more conflict.  Obama called on illegal immigrants to “come out of the shadows” and “to get right with the law.”  However, how do we know if immigrants will be treated fairly or be exploited?  He says we welcome immigrants, but do we really?  Over the years, there’s been a large amount of immigrants deported and treated unfairly.  The executive order provides a 2-year permit but it does not benefit people without children.”          --Jazmine

“It was great to hear Obama finally talk about our broken immigration system. As he said in his speech, he had committed to fix the broken immigration system and he finally came to an executive order. It was time to fix the lives of many immigrants who live in fear and want to embrace the same American responsibilities. We all agree that immigrants should pay fines for the laws that were broken. We also want special resources for the border. Although after years of living here, only people with U.S born children can benefit from this. How about single responsible immigrants?   In addition after two years, what happens when Obama leaves the White House?”           --Lisseth 

Finally, here is a story broadcast on NPR with thoughts of immigrants in Texas.

"I think it's a great thing because it's an improvement on your immigration laws, says Juan Orozco. He's a 28-year-old, unmarried construction worker from Mexico who says he's been in Texas for eight years. But it doesn't go far enough, he adds, because there are many people in my situation, who have a good record - nothing criminal - but who don't have kids."

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Respond to one of these perspectives that you disagree with. Explain why you disagree.
• What questions would you ask these youth? Write a letter to them.
• Select another quote from Bruno or the Chicago students, include it in your blog post as an indented quote, and explain why you agree or disagree with their statement

New Immigration Reform - The President's Plan

Recently President Obama announced plans to reform immigration laws. According to the Washington Post's transcript of the speech, the three big changes he wants to make are

• to give more resources on the border to catch people who cross the border illegally and return them to their home country quicker.
• to make it easier and faster for immigrants who are high-skilled, graduates and entrepreneurs to stay in the United States.
• Deal with the many undocumented immigrants who are already in the U.S.
• If an undocumented immigrant matches the following criteria, they can apply to stay temporarily without fear of deportation.
• has been in the country more than 5 years.
• has children who are U.S. citizens or illegal residents.
• register, pass a criminal background, and promise to pay taxes
• It's important to recognize this does not mean they will become U.S. citizens.

Read more about this flowchart here.

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Do you think this is a step in the right direction for immigration reform? Explain your answer. 
• Select a quote from Obama's speech, copy it in an indented quote format on your blog, and explain why you agree or disagree with his statement.

Mexican Cuisine

One Minute in Mexico from The Perennial Plate on Vimeo.

When I was in high school like my students I didn't really have exposure to international cuisine. One time the French club was having a fundraiser for something and they were making crepes and it made me throw up. I didn't eat an avocado until I was in my twenties. I was a vegetarian and didn't drink soda, so I pretty much survived on oatmeal and Little Debbie brownies. I get it if you are a picky eater.

But when I traveled, those walls started coming down. It started when I found desserts better than store bought brownies, and eventually I got to the fruits, veggies, and meats.

In an effort to encourage you to try something new sooner, I have a few videos, photos, and blog posts from Matador, a great travel website for 20-somethings (bookmark it for the future!) Click on the links below to read the articles.

8 weird things you can eat in Mexico that are actually really good

(This is a photo of my friend Courtney, taken on our trip to Mexico when we tried grasshoppers!)

10 foods to try in Mexico

8 signs you've never eaten real Mexican food

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Respond to one or more of the blog post/video - which "weird" Mexico food would your want to try and why? According to the article article 8 signs you've never eaten real Mexican food, have you ever had real Mexican food? What was it? Describe the experience. Which foods would you not want to try? Include images in the blog post.

YouTube Cooking Channels in Spanish

Many of you have asked what Hot Tamale means - check out the video below to see how to make a tamale! 

YouTube has many channels of people showing you how to cook food from Spanish speaking countries. The channel that the above video came from, Cocina Identidad, is full of great videos that show the viewer how to make traditional Mexican cuisine. Below is a video from another channel, MarisolPink, about how to make a traditional meal chimichangas.

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Select one of the videos from either of these channels and watch it. Summarize the basics of the recipe in your own words (You don't have to include measurements - keep it basic.) Include the video in your blog post.
• Find 3-5 videos of food you would want to try and create your own personal "Authentic Hispanic Food Video Cookbook" Explain what drew you to each video.
• Find other Spanish cooking channels on YouTube and include videos in your blog post.

Day of the Dead videos and images

Thanks to Zachary Jones and Betsy over at Zambobazo we're going to check out a few authentic materials about Deay of the Dead. Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Describe what you saw while watching the news clip. What stood out to you?
• Describe the scenery, outfits and food.
• What did you think as you were watching the news clip? 

Click here to see a variety of Day of the Dead posters for events. Select one or more and answer the following questions.

• Where is this event taking place? (City, State, and Country) What time and day?
• Describe what the image is on the poster. Why do you think the artist choose the image?
• What other information can you understand from the poster?
• Do you like the poster - why or why not?

• Summarize 5 aspects that are included in an ofrenda and explain their significance.
• Draw or Create your own ofrenda for a diseased friend/family member. Include a photo/image of it on your blog and explain the different parts of your ofrenda.

Click here to access a link to an infographic about Halloween in Colombia.

• Take a screen shot of 2-3 pieces of information, embed them into a blog post and translate them to English. 
• Compare the information you translated about Halloween in Colombia to Halloween in the United States. What do people in both countries do? How do we celebrate Halloween differently?

Finally, here is a video in English made in 1957 that has great images and descriptions of the holiday. You can learn more here. Write your own summary about what you have learned about Day of the Dead in a blog post.

Same language, different translations

One of the hardest parts about learning another language is that, depending on where you travel, the vocabulary will change. (Think of "you all" vs. "y'all" vs. "you guys" vs. "yinz"). Do you say soda, pop, or Coke?

Smartling.com made a neat little website that highlights some words that change translation depending on the Spanish-speaking country you are in. Click here to check it out.

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Select 3-5 different words and create a table or chart (or infographic) translating them across different countries.
• Select 2 countries (perhaps Spain and Mexico) and create a table or chart (or infographic) with the different words translated

Google Translate will MESS YOU UP

When we use Google Translate in class, we use it to look up specific words (and usually cross reference it with another Spanish-English dictionary/translation site like WordReference.com) or to hear how specific phrases we already know are correct are pronounced. If you try to use it to write an entire dialogue you will probably end up with a recording of you sounding pretty silly in Spanish.

avoid this!

Or you will sound like this!

Hot Tamale Activities - Complete one or more of these activities as a advanced/Hot Tamale blog post. Title your post the title of this blog post.

• Watch other videos on Google Translate Sings playlist and include your favorite 2 in a blog post. For each song, select 1 lines that when re-translated were the funniest and type it with indented quotes.
• Create your own Google Translate Sings song by taking a song you like and using Google to translate it to other languages then back to English. Compare the original lyrics with the new lyrics and describe the differences in a blog post.

Spanish Landmark Quiz

I just took a 10 question quiz about Landmarks in Spanish speaking countries and got a 6/10! Can you do better? Click here to take the quiz. Take a screen shot of your score and email it to bordner@cityhigh.org or put it in your blog with a brief description of what you learned!

New York Times Travel Videos

The New York Times has a series of short videos about spending 36 hours in different places in the world. The video they released this past weekend was about Cartagena, Colombia, where I went last December. It was really neat to see places that I had been and see what they said about the food/culture of Cartagena.

• Watch any of the videos about international cities by clicking here. Share what you learn in a blog post or email to bordner@cityhigh.org. Would you want to travel there? Explain your answer.

Cultural Norms in Other Countries

Fasten Seat Belts is a website that explains cultural norms of different countries, along with quick survival phrases. Pick a country (it does not have to be a Spanish speaking country), watch a few videos and summarize what you learn in a blog post or email to bordner@cityhigh.org.

How Kids Get to School

Children cross the river using pulleys on their way to school in the outskirts of Modena, Italy, 1959.

Many of our City High staff and students have quite the trek to school everyday. Let's look at how other students get to school. Look at How Students Go To School then answer one or more of the following Hot Tamale Activities in a blog post or email to bordner@cityhigh.org.

• Create a map and insert the images into the different countries they represent on the map. Embed the map into a blog post or email the link.
• Which way looks the hardest and why? 
• Rank the top 5 most difficult ways.
• What else do you notice about the photos? 
• Describe the surroundings.
• What are the school children wearing?
• Look at other pages of this website. What is this organization about? Share 5 other things you learned about the world through this website.

How Do Languages Evolve?

For those of you who are interested in learning WHY there are so many languages that are spoken in the world and HOW MANY there are, watch this short video then complete one or more of The Hot Tamale Activities below in an email to bordner@cityhigh.org.

• Summarize the video in your own words. What are three new facts that you learned? 
• What are the main branches of languages? 
• Why is it hard to say how many languages are spoken in the world?
• Go to the Endangered Languages website. Learn about a new language spoken in the world and share what you've learned in a blog post/email.
• Want to learn more? Go to this website from National Geographic and summarize the information provide on the main page. 

Ms. Bordner Update

Hola estudiantes!

Students are updating their Spanish blogs letting me know what they've been up to since we were last together so I thought it might be a good idea to let you know what I've been doing!

This August break I went on a bike trip in Spain! I spent about two weeks traveling around Spain. I spent six days biking 200 miles in Spain and it was awesome! I also got to go to Morocco in Africa for a day.

I also spent the April break in Costa Rica with students from the class of 2015 (now seniors!), and I spent December break in Colombia (the country in Latin America). Though I've traveled a lot to the Spanish speaking countries my next international trip will be to somewhere in Asia! Either Thailand, Japan, or China. I want to go there because I'm really interested in exploring their traditions, ancient ruins, and their large cities. I plan on spending some time in a big City like Bangkok or Tokyo, visiting ruins like the Great Wall of China or Angkor Watt, and of course going to a beach!

Something I'm really excited about this trimester is our focus on Hispanic music. I love to listen to lots of different genres of music in Spanish (and English) and when I learn about the instruments and the historical/cultural context of the songs it makes me like the music even more! One of my favorite genres is female Hispanic hip hop artists. One of my favorite artist is Ana Tijoux from Chile. I also really like Los Rakas, another hip hop group from California and Panama.

I'm also looking forward to talking about different foods from Spanish speaking countries! I love Spanish food like ham with melon and octopus! I love the fresh juice in Costa Rica and pancakes with plantains! I loved drinking the juice straight out of the coconut in the street in Colombia! And I love love love chilaquiles with mole sauce in Mexico!

To end this letter I just want to say that I'm really excited to see all my students again, pick up where we left off, and keep learning about the world around us and how to communicate with others in it! Lets have a great year!

Undocumented Youth in the United States

As we've been learning about immigration, we've been focusing on what should happen to the teenagers who are living in the United States but are not legal U. S. Citizens.

Click here to listen to a radio piece about students in a high school in El Paso, Texas. They go to school in the United States, but some of them are believed to be undocumented. (You do not have to prove citizenship to be educated in the United States.)

Email your responses to the Hot Tamale Activities below to bordner@cityhigh.org

• Describe the family situation of one of the students (Alonso, Junior, or Zuarmitzi) in the story.
• Pick one of the students and explain what you would do if you were in their situation.

Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors are Coming to Pittsburgh

A few weeks ago we learned about immigration in class. We specifically focused on youth from Latin American countries (especially Central American countries) crossing the border without adults.

Watch this newsclip to learn about how some of the "unaccompanied minors" are coming to Pittsburgh.




Answer the following questions in an email to bordner@cityhigh.org or an additional blog post.

• What are some concerns that people in Pittsburgh have about the youth coming to Pittsburgh?
• What is your reaction to their concerns?
• What was it like for Bartolo to come to the United States? 

Can you pass a U.S. Citizen test?

When we talk about immigration issues that the United States are currently facing we discuss how hard it is to become a legal U. S. citizen. Part of the process is to pass a test about U.S. history. Below is an idea of what kinds of questions would be on the test.

As a Hot Tamale Activity, take the test. (Click here to go to the website. If that link does not work, here is a similar test.)

• If you get a passing score, email a screen shot of the score to bordner@cityhigh.org
• Do you think all citizens should know this information? Explain your answer.

World Cup 2014

Olé! It's the World Cup! The World Cup is an international soccer competition that happens every four years like the Olympics. Countries all over the world compete to play in the World Cup, and only 32 earn the chance to compete for the globe. 

Mr. Rucker and I have been leading a World Cup club for the class of 2017. We have a fancy website you can check out all kinds of things about the world cup like the music, the mascot and more!

www.tinyurl.com/chworldcup2014 

Check out the website then compose an email answering one or more of the Hot Tamale Activities to bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org

• Who are you rooting for? Why?
• Watch a few videos on the website then describe them.
• Check out some of the infographics on the World Cup 2014 page and describe them.
• Watch a game then describe it. 
• Pick a country competing in the World Cup and write a description of their culture or soccer team

Do you speak English?

click here to read about the map

I came across this photo today and was pretty surprised by how many people in Europe don't speak English. I think when we are raised in the United States you assume that all other developed countries teach English, but of course that's just us being ethnocentric.

Email your responses to the Hot Tamale Activities below to bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org

• create a chart with each country and percentage of population that speaks English
• focus on one color of country (blue, grey, brown, etc.) and identify what the official language of each country is
• What does this map teach you about being a knowledgeable traveler?

Spanish words that have no translation

There are some words in the Spanish language that have no direct translations to English. Click here to read about 10 of them and then complete one or more of the Hot Tamale Activities in an email to bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org.

• Which word do you wish we had in English? Explain your answer.
• What are some words you use that don't make sense to other people (who speak English)? Think of (appropriate) slang terms.
• Who would you say "te quiero" to? Why would you say that to this person?

Listening Practice with Music Videos

This song has been stuck in my head for days. David Bisbal is a famous pop singer from Spain, so he has a different accent when he sings compared to Latin American singers.

I love listening to music in  Spanish and it helps me speak Spanish better. A fun website to get practice listening to songs is LyricsTraining.com. You watch the video and fill in the missing words. There are different levels to practice, so as you get better with each song you can challenge yourself to fill in more and more lyrics!

• Click here to play "Diez Mil Maneras" on LyricsTraining.com - take a screen shot when the game is over and email it to bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org.

Spring song of 2014

I spend a lot of time learning about different types of Latin American music, and this is a great pop song with a very fun video! Watch the video above (the lyrics are translated to English on the bottom of the screen) then email bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org your responses to the prompts below.

• Complete the missing lyrics on this clozeline wrkst.
• Create your own list of things you want to do before you die.
• This video was shoot in Venezuela. What do you notice about the people and scenery in the video? 
• Share your favorite feel-good song of the Spring/Summer.

Foreign Language Faux Pas

I've made mistake #4 before! 

When you learn another language or travel you're bound to make mistakes! Click here to check out The Telegraph's Top 10 foreign language faux pas in pictures, then email your response to one or more of The Hot Tamale Activities below to bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org.

• Pick the top 5 faux pas that you think are the funniest/most embarrassing/ most important. Why did you pick those?
• Are there other faux pas that you know about that aren't on this list?
• Write about a time you experienced a cross-cultural mis-communication. What happened?

Traveling by foot

Here's another great travel video I came across on the internet. In this video Chris Rehage takes photos of himself walking across China. 

Watch the video then email your responses to one or more of the Hot Tamale Activities below to bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org.

• Would you ever do something like what you see in the video? Explain your answer.
• Read more about Chris on his blog by clicking here then summarize what you've learned.

Alternative Spanish Final Exam

According to the website 22words,

For his final project in Spanish class, redditor TechSis needed to make a video demonstrating what he’d learned during the term. While most others in his class made music videos, he went an entirely different direction and created the best Mexican soap opera of all time… 

Complete one of the following Hot Tamale Activities and email your responses to bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org.

• Summarize the video - what happens?
• Write a review of the video - did you like it? Explain your answer.
• If you were to make a video similar to this one, what would the plot be? If you could have famous actors in your movie who would you hire? What part would they play?
• Would you prefer to make a video like this instead of take a final exam? Why?

Travel photos on Instagram

A photo I posted on Instagram from Costa Rica

Sarah von Bargen over at www.yesandyes.org has a great blog post this month about people who post amazing photos from around the world on Instagram.

Check out the post then complete one or more of The Hot Tamale activities below. Email your response to bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org.

• Which Instagram account would you follow? Why? Where are they located?
• Which photos in the post did you find the most interesting? Explain your answer.
• Check out other travel related blog posts from Sarah's blog by clicking here. Summarize what you have learned.

How has travel affected your life?

One of my favorite travel blogs is The Art of Non-conformity because the author, Chris Guillebeau, blogs about traveling to all 193 countries in the world!

Last month he wrote a great post about how travel has affected him. He said

I’ve learned as much from the mistakes and misadventures as I have from the times that everything went as planned. I can’t imagine what I’d be doing if I hadn’t pursued life outside my doors and beyond my comfort zone.

Click here to read the rest of the post then complete the Hot Tamale activities by emailing bordner@cityhigh.org or akhand@cityhigh.org your responses to the following questions

• Where have you traveled? What did you do? How has travel affected your life?
• Where do you want to travel? Why?
• Read other parts of Chris's blog and summarize what you've learned.